Faith and Life in the Orthodox Church Patron Saints of Parish Churches Book 309 Pages 24 X 17 cm 9 1/2" X 6 1/2" WHAT is THE PLACE of Saints in our life? Why do we dedicate our parish churches to a certain Saint? Why do we, at our Baptism, receive the name of a Saint and call that Saint our own Patron Saint? What is the meaning of reading the life of a Saint? Why do we have icons of the Saints in our Church buildings? Many people, even Orthodox believers, ask these questions. They want to understand what the place of Saints is in our spiritual life. In this book, concerning the lives of Patron Saints of Orthodox Parish Churches, we try to put stress on the fundamental connection between the two meanings: faith and life. These two words are a pair of meanings that give birth to deification. We can say that neither faith without life (that is Protestantism) nor life without faith (that is an Animistic position), can alone lead to salvation, to deification. We cannot separate the lives of the Saints from the theological faith in the Church. For us the Orthodox faith and the lives of the Saints form one thing, because the Saints have lived the theology and applied it to their life. Theological writings are an expression of the experience of the faith and life of the Saints, which is the life of the God's grace, and they are not just an intellectual, abstract or theoretical expression. Salvation and Sainthood is the result of both: faith and life. We can see that clearly in the lives of the Saints. Real and true faith and life became possible only with the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This exact life is the life of the Saints 1 St. Alexis, the Man of God 2 St. Anastasios of Persia 3 St. Andrew the Apostle 4 St. Anthony the Great 5 St. Athanasios the Great 6 St. Barnabas the Apostle 7 St. Bartholomew the Apostle 8 St. Basil the Great 9 Sts Constantine and Helen 10 Sts Cosmas and Damian 11 St. Charalambus 12 St. Christopher 13 St. Cyril and Methodius 14 St. David of Evea 15 St. Demetrius, the Out-pourer of Myron 16 St. Eleftherius 17 St. Elijah the Prophet 18 St. Ephrosynos the Cook 19 Sts Forty Martyrs 20 St. Frumentius of Ethiopia 21 St. George, the Great Martyr 22 St. Gerasimus of Jordan 23 St. James, "The brother of Christ" 24 Sts Joachim and Anna 25 St. John the Baptist 26 St. John Chrysostom 27 St. Katherine 28 St. Lazarus 29 St. Luke the Evangelist 30 St. Macarius the Great 31 St. Mamas the Martyr 32 St. Mark the Apostle 33 St. Matrona 34 St. Matthew the Evangelist 35 Sts Michael and Gabriel 36 St. Meletios 37 St. Menas 38 St. Moses the Ethiopian 39 St. Nectarius of Pentapolis 40 St. Neophytus 41 St. Nicodemus of Athos 42 St. Nicholas Bishop of Myra 43 St. Nymphodora and her sisters Metrodora and Menodora 44 St. Panteleimon 45 St. Parthenius 46 St. Paul the Apostle 47 St. Peter the Apostle 48 St. Philip the Apostle 49 St. Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople 50 St. Polycarp 51 St. Porphyrius 52 Sts Raphael, Nicholas and Irene 53 St. Seraphim of Sarov 54 St. Silouan the Athonite 55 St. Sophia and her daughters, Faith, Hope and Love 56 St. Spyridon 57 St. Stephen the Deacon 58 St. Stylianus 59 St. Symeon the New Theologian 60 St. Titus the Apostle 61 Sts Three Hierarchs 62 St. Thomas the Apostle 63 Holy Twelve Apostles APPENDIX 1 Annunciation of Virgin Mary 2 Ascension of Jesus Christ 3 Birth of Virgin Mary 4 Dormition of Theotokos 5 Elevation of the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ 6 Entrance of Virgin Mary in the Temple 7 Holy Trinity 8 Nativity of Jesus Christ 9 Holy Resurrection of Jesus Christ 10 Transfiguration of Christ 11 Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, "An imitating model"